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Media Release:

Officials at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park reopened Chain of Craters Road at 4 p.m. today, after a 24-hour closure resulting from new eruptive activity at Kīlauea volcano’s Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. Park rangers are stationed near sea level at the bottom of Chain of Craters Road, at Pu‘u Huluhulu and at Jaggar Museum to inform visitors of the latest conditions and best viewing opportunities.

On Wed., Aug. 3, the crater floor and lava lake within Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō collapsed and lava flowed out of its west flank. Scientists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitored a rapid deflation of the crater floor and lava lake, and by 3:15 p.m. yesterday, the collapse began.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/fFgmLwf-3ug]

Visitors to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park are able to view dramatic glows from the new Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption from several vantage points within the park, including Pu‘u Huluhulu, the Jaggar Museum overlook, and from the bottom of Chain of Craters Road.

“For the more adventurous, a short mile-and-a-half round-trip hike to Pu‘u Huluhulu puts you in the line of site of the vent and new lava flows off the west flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō,” said Chief Ranger Talmadge Magno. “And, weather permitting, the glow is apparent after sunset as the daylight obscures any redness. Visitors can also drive to the end of Chain of Craters Road and look up and see the glow,” he said.

In addition, Kīlauea’s summit eruption at Halema‘uma‘u crater continues, and visitors can often hear the roar from rocks exploding off crater walls, and can observe a beautiful red glow after nightfall. Rangers reported that the new incandescence from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō is also visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook.

And while visitors are enjoying new lava activity, a six-person fire crew has contained approximately 80 percent of a wildfire ignited by lava on the southern end of the flow, approximately one acre in size. Another fire on the north end of the flow continues to burn, and is being monitored by fire officials.

The Green burst on to the national scene last year with their self-titled debut album, which was named Best Reggae Album of 2010 by both iTunes and Hawaii’s Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Now, they are ready to pick up where they left off with their new release, Ways & Means. The full-length album comes out October 25th, while the Love & Affection EP, featuring four tracks from the upcoming record along with an exclusive bonus dub, is available digitally on August 9th.

The Love & Affection EP is an excellent intro to the band’s maturing sound, featuring the three singles “Love & Affection,” “She Was The Best,” and “Got Me In Love,” along with the roots-heavy album track “Travlah.” The exclusive track is a dub version of “Travlah,” mixed by Michael Goldwasser of the Easy Star All-Stars. The title song “Love & Affection” is also the lead track on the Pacific Island Sampler, from The Pier, and is available for blog posts, podcasts etc.

The Green joins an Easy Star family that includes the Easy Star All-Stars, John Brown’s Body, Cas Haley, The Black Seeds, Ticklah, Tommy T and The Meditations.

Cas Haley and Josh Heinrichs have dinner at Luquins Restaurant in Pahoa, Hawaii

“There are so many new bands coming into the reggae scene these days, but The Green immediately caught our attention as something special. They have already accomplished so much in a short period of time, but we know they have just scratched the surface of their potential,” says Easy Star Records co-founder Eric Smith.

“We remember listening to the first Easy Star release when we were just starting out,” says singer/keyboardist Ikaika Antone. “My first band Herbin Riddim even covered the song “Delilah” off Easy Star Volume 1. Easy Star has been a major part of my musical influence and journey, so it’s very exciting to us to be putting out music on the label now.”

I didn’t even know that Hawaii Prep Academy had lost their football coach Tom Goodspeed until I just read the following:

Goodspeed was excited to finally take over the Dolphins Athletic Department.

“I have been looking to take a step up professionally and looking to get closer to family and friends,” said Goodspeed, who lived in Hawaii for the past 18 years. “It’s good to get back closer and on the mainland, and to an area with so much going on.”

Though Goodspeed will not coach a sport at Chadwick, he will be busy during the next couple of months and upcoming school year…

…For the past 18 years, he has worked as an athletic director, coach and teacher on the Big Island of Hawaii. His first position there was in the town of Waimea at the Hawaii Preparatory Academy, where he spent 12 years … most of that time as a football and basketball coach and science teacher.

During his last three years at Hawaii Prep, the football team captured three-straight league titles, making it to the quarterfinal round before earning two-straight trips to the semifinals of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation playoffs.

Goodspeed spent his final six years in Hawaii at Parker School in Kamuela, where he coached girls and boys tennis.

“We did OK,” Goodspeed said. “It was a small school battling big schools. We were in the middle of the pack, but every year we sent a couple of kids to the state tournament.”

Goodspeed was hired by Chadwick in March and relocated to California on July 3. His family currently resides on campus, where he lives with his wife, Sheryl, and his daughter, Amara, 8. His stepdaughter, Kaffia, 21, attends the State University of New York at Purchase, where she’s a senior…

A suspected pedophile facing child-abuse charges cannot exclude evidence that was brought to light by airport security workers during a routine check of his luggage, the 9th Circuit ruled.

Simon McCarty, a citizen of the United Kingdom, faces several felony charges in Hawaii stemming from the discovery of “almost five dozen photographs of nude and partially nude minors, children’s underwear and pajama advertisements, and handwritten notes describing the molestation of children” in his luggage by Transportation Security Administration agents at Hilo International Airport on the Big Island, according to the ruling. During a subsequent search of McCarty’s laptop, investigators found “hundreds of images and at least 200 video clips of child pornography,” and videos of “McCarty engaged in sexual activity with at least three different prepubescent boys.”

McCarty left Hilo for Honolulu in the summer of 2008 when a screening machine alerted agents to conduct a deeper search of one bag containing an unknown dense object. As a TSA screener went through the bag, an envelope fell out, spilling a few of the illicit photographs. After discovering more photos, children’s underwear ads and the other items, TSA supervisors called the police, who arrested McCarty two days later on a federal complaint…

Media Release:

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has reached another milestone in its work on a General Management Plan and public input is needed. As part of an on-going effort to develop a General Management Plan/ Wilderness Study and Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/Wilderness Study/EIS), National Park Service staff will be hosting several “talk story” sessions to discuss four preliminary alternatives. Written and on-line comments are also being requested through September 30, 2011.

It has been more than 30 years since the park’s previous master plan was completed. Since that time, the park has experienced increased visitation, advances in knowledge about ecological and cultural resources, and numerous volcanic eruptions with the resultant loss of buildings and roadways. In 2003, the park acquired the Kahuku area on the southwest slope of Mauna Loa Volcano. The GMP will document a strategic vision for the entire park, including Kahuku, and serve as a guidebook for the future.

Ranger-led walk at 1969 fissure

There are four preliminary alternatives developed by the park planning team to address a menu of topics that include the park’s cultural significance, location of visitor and operations facilities, new or connecting trails, sustainable and climate-friendly operations, education, research, and visitor access and services at the Kahuku Unit. The NPS has also expanded their planning effort to include a wilderness study to determine if NPS-managed lands within the park should be recommended for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. As part of this added scope of the project, additional public input related to wilderness is being solicited during the review period for GMP preliminary alternatives.

“Each alternative offers a different approach to managing park resources as well as a variety of ways to meet the needs of local residents, off-island visitors and students of all ages who continue to come each year to experience this special place”, stated Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando. Alternatives are based on prior public comments, federal law and NPS policy, as well as the professional knowledge of park staff.

A newsletter describing the preliminary alternatives and wilderness study is available on the park web site at www.nps.gov/havo/parkmgmt/gmp.htm or at Hawaii Island libraries.

Three “talk story” sessions are scheduled on Hawaii Island for the public to share ideas and comments about the park’s future. The sessions will include a brief introduction to the alternatives, maps and smaller stations for individual discussion with NPS staff, and opportunities to provide comments. NPS staff will be available to answer questions and record comments.

“Talk Story” Schedule

Monday August 22

6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park

Kilauea Visitor Center

One Crater Rim Drive

Tuesday August 23

6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Pahoa Community Center

15-2910 Puna Road

Wednesday August 24

6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Naalehu Community Center

95-5635 Mamalahoa Highway

There are several ways for the public to offer comments on the GMP preliminary alternatives and wilderness study outside the “talk story” sessions including filling out a comment form available in the newsletter, submitting comments on-line through a link on the National Park Service Planning, Environment and Public Comment site, http://parkplanning.nps.gov/havo or by mailing comments to: Cindy Orlando, Superintendent, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, PO Box 52, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718.

Comments are welcome on an on-going basis throughout the process but are encouraged to be submitted by September 30, 2011 to be incorporated in the preparation of the future alternatives to be featured in the Draft GMP/Wilderness Study and Environmental Impact Statement expected to be available for review in 2012-2013.